Ashley Williams

"Why is it whenever someone says 'with all due respect', they really mean 'kiss my ass'?"

Ashley Williams is a human soldier and a squad mate of Commander Shepard aboard the SSV Normandy. She is a Gunnery Chief for the Systems Alliance who was assigned to a routine mission on Eden Prime to protect a Prothean Beacon. During the mission, Eden Prime was attacked by the Geth. Ashley and her unit were able to send a distress call to the Normandy but by the time Shepard and Alenko arrived Ashley was the only soldier left. She assisted Commander Shepard in finding the Prothean Beacon and battling the Geth on Eden Prime. After returning to the Normandy, Captain Anderson tells her that she impressed him on Eden Prime and that he's asked to have her transferred to the Normandy crew.

Ashley comes from a family of Alliance Soldiers. Her Grandfather fought in the First Contact War and shamed the Williams family name by surrendering to the Turians. Ashley believes that her family have never risen to the higher ranks in the Alliance because of her Grandfather, she believes that her superiors look down on her because of her family's past. She also feels that she is unworthy and must prove herself at all times due to this family legacy (or curse). Ashley also has 3 sisters that she had to raise while her father was fighting in the Alliance. Despite his hard work and determination, Ashley's father also failed to climb the ranks in the Alliance which Ashley also blames on her Grandfather.

Ashley`s career itself seems to suffer the same as her father's. Although she reached the rank of Gunnery Chief (a moment which made her father very proud), she has been mostly "grounded" in backwater positions, which has limited her exposure to other races in Citadel space.

Due to Ashley's upbringing and her limited exposure to other races during her military career, she finds it hard to trust other races. She is especially wary of letting them freely roam the Normandy. However, she is willing to take any orders Commander Shepard gives her, even if it means putting her personal problems aside.

Ashley has a fiery personality and at first seems quite narrow minded. However, as the plot progresses there is the opportunity for her to open up to Shephard and show a softer side and a more playful spirit.